Watching this much-repeated UK TV docu-drama serial about the infamous life and times of BLACKBEARD is a very rewarding experience. Factual accuracy can't be guaranteed as so little genuine information survives about this man, but what it does do very successfully is to deliver a new perspective about him that other programmes/films have not; and for this alone it's a very worthwhile production. It's also very competently shot and directed, which is a big bonus. Watching this you definitely get a different insight into the man that recreated himself as BLACKBEARD and went on to market his own persona with great success - unlike the mad savage he's usually portrayed as, we get the impression he must have actually been a very cunning and intelligent man who was perhaps a maverick well beyond his time in terms of understanding how to develop a brand image and how to promote that for best effect. JAMES PUREFOY is absolutely stunning in the role, and personally I find this his best performance to date, simply because he loses himself in it, which I've not seen him do successfully in his other roles. Perhaps it's due to the costume and big beard, and that there's no reliance on his good looks for the role, so he's able to project his performance beyond the facade of his own features. For sure his portrayal of BLACKBEARD is the best I've ever seen from any actor, and it's a real credit to him. As for the pirate accents; definitely they're accurate if any non-UK viewers see this drama - most English pirates of the time (inc. Blackbeard) were from the Bristol area of the English south coast - they did indeed speak this way, and to a lesser degree it's still the local accent today.
